Dave Atchison said he hopes his election will be a new chapter for the city.

Voters favored him over Mayor Garrett Brown and newcomer Thomas Spratley in the race for the two-year seat.

Atchison, who will begin his term on Dec. 3, received 1,273 votes to Brown's 791 votes and Spratley's 342 votes.

"It's very rewarding to have the message of our campaign, which is integrity and transparency, be endorsed by the people's vote," Atchison said on Wednesday. "I am hopeful and I am positive that it will be new chapter for the city. Every day is a new beginning."

"I have an open door policy," he added, "and I look forward to being very accessible and talking to the entire city at every opportunity."

Garrett Brown(Photo11: Provided)

Brown said Wednesday that the election returns were not what he expected, but he appreciated the enthusiasm of the residents he met during the campaign. He said he returned to his hometown to be a change agent and that it was a privilege to help shape the city's future.

Brown's departure should end a tumultuous 13 months for the city that played out in full view of the public.

In October 2017, Chad Baase, a candidate for mayor in 2016, attempted to recall Brown for a number of reasons, including not performing his duties. An Albion woman also filed a personal protection order against the mayor that month.

Baase unexpectedly dropped the recall effort in January, saying in an email that he was moving on "to Statewide and Nation Wide issues in my pursuit of removing redlining policies that still exist to this day" and also was going to devote himself to "working on a project which would significantly increase the Oxygen levels in our atmosphere."

In March, former City Manager Sheryl Mitchell resigned nearly six months after she first tendered her resignation following her annual evaluation in October 2017, during which Brown and Mayor Pro Tem Sonya Brown raised concerns about her performance, though the evaluation was generally positive.

“Clearly, the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem have an issue with me relative to what they perceive to be a siding with school annexation,” Mitchell wrote in her resignation letter, referring to the voter-approved annexation of Albion schools by the Marshall Public Schools.

Both Garrett Brown and Sonya Brown denied any such motivation, saying their evaluations were based solely on her performance.

But Mitchell also wrote that “The unrelenting assertions that I am not ‘transparent’, lack ‘candor’ and attempt to ‘purposefully undermine the deliberative process of council’ are not only unfounded, but extremely stressful and are impacting my health and ability to most effectively perform my job.”

Amid public support, Mitchell rescinded her resignation less than three weeks later, but then turned in another resignation in March for a job in Lathrup Village in Oakland County.

In May, Calhoun County Circuit Court Judge Brian Kirkham ended the PPO against Brown granted in October 2017 to Felisha Coats, an Albion woman with whom Brown had a romantic relationship.

The judge had approved the PPO after Coats said she had seen Brown peering through the windows in the back of her house.

Kirkham's decision in May came after nearly six hours of testimony by Brown, Coats and Coats' 14-year-old daughter, who said she also saw Brown looking into a window back in September.

"I feel vindicated," Brown said at the time.

Brown said Wednesday he hopes that his experience does not discourage other young professional leaders "from doing the hard work of addressing long-term problems that past generations have left unaddressed in our community."

"I'm proud of my commitment to good governance and equitable development," he said. "The makeup of the upcoming council gives me hope that the council will remain committed to making sure that Albion is a diverse and welcoming community for people of all races and incomes."